


[skype call on christmas]

by LtTanyaBoone



Series: welcome to the Modern AU [1]
Category: Pan Am
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Prompt Fill, Skype, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2019-10-24 00:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17694020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LtTanyaBoone/pseuds/LtTanyaBoone
Summary: Prompt fill for "Kate/Colette romantic pairing, Skype call"





	[skype call on christmas]

**Author's Note:**

> import from tumblr

Colette titled her head as the camera turned on, pressing a hand over her mouth when the picture of Kate’s apartment filled the screen. She could hear the Christmas Carols playing in the background as the redhead danced around her apartment, bopping her head to a rather poppy rendition of Lord of the Dance. The redhead grabbed a steaming mug and walked back to the desk her laptop sat on, sitting down and freezing when she realized that her webcam had been transmitting and saw Colette hopelessly trying to stifle her laughter.

“How much of that did you see?” she asked, blowing on her mug of steaming hot chocolate.

“Enough to thank you for the performance,” the French stewardess smiled, tilting her head as she shook out her hair. She watched as Kate blushed, ducking her head to take a sip of her drink and grimacing before she set the mug down.

“How was your flight?” she asked and Colette shook her head.

“I never want to see the inside of a plane again,” she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose before she resolutely shook her head. “How was your day?” she asked in turn, watching as Kate shrugged.

“Well, mother reacted to the news as well as you would expect,” she said, “but dinner was actually nice, so there is that. Except that I miss you, so Christmas still sucks.”

Colette gave her a sympathetic smile. Her colleagues hadn’t been happy about being put on a flight on Christmas Eve any more than she had been, even though it had taken her to France. Still, given the choice between having her native language spoken around her and actually spending Christmas with her girlfriend, Colette would’ve happily chosen the latter. Also because she would’ve loved to see Judith Cameron’s reaction to the fact that her younger, _unmarried_ daughter was pregnant.

“Hang on,” Kate groaned when her cell phone chirped. Colette watched her stare at the display of her phone, brows knitting.

“You know how my mother invited us to stay at their place over the holidays, before they put you on the flight?” the redhead asked, making Colette nod. “Greetings from my sister, apparently my mother has asked if you’re actually in Europe or if we just used it as an excuse so we could have sex on Christmas Eve.”

Colette shook her head. When Kate had come out, her parents had reacted surprisingly well, but once she had introduced them to Colette, things had gotten a little rockier. Maybe because their daughter being gay was no longer an abstract concept and they could no longer close their eyes to it. Colette didn’t really care what the reason was, she just knew that spending the night at the house of Kate’s parents came with ridiculous rules, like not locking the bedroom door. They were adults, as if that would stop them from having sex. But so far, they had indeed avoided the hassle, also because the way Kate’s father stared at them when they’d kissed on the cheek once had made Colette’s skin crawl.

“Please tell me you’re not replying to that,” Colette sighed as she watched Kate fiddle with her phone.

“I did. Laura can decide whether she shows it to Mother or not,” the American shrugged.

“I don’t even want to know,” the blonde shook her head.

“Oh!” Kate exclaimed as something caught her eye when she put her cell phone down. Colette frowned as her girlfriend got up and disappeared out of frame, only to return wearing felt reindeer antlers.

“Oh my God!” Colette exclaimed, grinning at her girlfriend as Kate shook her head, making the bells jingle softly.

“Joe gave it to me. There’s a Santa hat for you, too.” Kate told her, holding it up. “Which reminds me, ready to open your present?”

Colette nodded, producing the wrapped package her girlfriend had given her before she’d boarded the flight the day before. She knew that there were two more sitting under their tree in Kate’s apartment so she was excited to see what was so special about this one that Kate had chosen it to send along with her.

The idea had been Joe’s. He’d told them of fellow soldiers who did the same thing with their families, the families mailed them a present and the soldiers did the same and then they watched the other open them during a video call. It didn’t replace actually being with your loved ones during the holidays, but it made them feel less alone, and Kate had asked Colette if she wanted to do the same. It was their second Christmas together, the first one since Kate’s parents knew about them being together, and being forced to spend it apart was really putting a damper on their spirits.

“You wanna go first?” she asked, watching as Kate shrugged.

“Is there a coin toss generator online?” the redhead mumbled, clicking around on her computer.

“We could just actually flip a coin,” Colette shook her head in amusement.

“You wanna get up and get your purse?” Kate pointedly raised an eyebrow. “Heads or tails?”

“Tails,” Colette instantly replied. The screen of her Skype window changed, Kate’s face disappeared and instead Colette saw a webpage, displaying a French 1€ piece. She’d lost the toss, going by the tree with the words _LIBERTÉ EGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ_ around it. Colette put the present aside and got comfortable on the hotel room bed, watching her girlfriend’s face as Kate carefully opened the present as Colette held her breath. Kate’s lips curled into a soft smile as she held up the CD into the camera.

“Thank you,” she grinned and Colette waited, watching as her girlfriend’s jaw slackened as she looked down again.

“Oh my God,” she whispered, looking up at the monitor to find the blonde smiling at her. “Are you insane? Colette, this is too much-” Kate protested, holding onto the concert ticket with wide eyes as she shook her head.

“I will admit to having used Ted’s connections to get it at a discount,” the French stewardess replied. She had cringed when she’d seen the actual price on the ticket, but her girlfriend’s expression now would have been worth that and even more. Thankfully, their co-pilot came well connected, the perks of having a cousin that was an event manager.

“Again, thank you so much, I, I don’t know what to say…” Kate stammered, pressing her hand over her mouth as she watched Colette, tears brimming in her eyes.

“Merry Christmas, Kate,” the blonde smiled. Her girlfriend let out a soft laugh, motioning for Colette to wait as she got up and grabbed a box of Kleenex from the TV set.

“Okay, your turn,” the redhead nodded after having wiped her eyes. She leaned back in her chair, grabbing her mug of hot chocolate again as Colette started to unwrap the present. She’d put the laptop on the bed, pulling the present into her lap. When she pulled the wrapping paper off, she found herself looking at a velvet box, her heart skipping a beat as she carefully opened the lid.

“Kate…” Colette breathed as she looked down at the silver necklace sitting on the velvet. The pendant consisted of three parts, there was a round one with “KC” engraved on it and another round one with “CV”. In the middle was a rectangular pendant with pilot’s wings.

“It’s beautiful,” Colette whispered, lifting the necklace out of the box to put it on. When she looked at the laptop monitor again, she saw Kate watching her, tears falling from her eyes. “Kate?”

“It’s actually,” the redhead started, clearing her throat. “Sorry. It’s kinda incomplete,” she added, hesitating as Colette furrowed her brows. “Do you still have that envelope?”

The French woman nodded, grabbing her carryon bag from beside the bed and procuring the envelope. Kate had told her it was the receipt for the gift, in case she ran into trouble with customs on her flight.

“Open it,” the redhead urged her and Colette slid her fingernail beneath the flap, opening the envelope. Inside was another envelope, the word “receipt” written on it in Kate’s handwriting. And a card. When Colette pulled that out, her heart stopped before it started hammering in her chest.

“I probably should have waited until you are back, but I just couldn’t,” Kate said as Colette stared at the invitation.

_You are cordially invited to the wedding of Colette Valois and Katherine Cameron_

Beneath the elegant cursive letters was a picture of Kate and her dancing with each other. Colette remembered that event, it had been a fundraiser Kate’s mother had hosted and insisted that her daughter attend. It had been the first time that they’d allowed themselves public displays of affection around the friends of Kate’s parents. The picture was innocent enough, it had been cut off shortly below their waists, but the two women were smiling, their eyes closed as their foreheads rested together.

“Kate,” Colette breathed, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I love you, Colette. And I know this year has been rough and I wish that some things had gone very differently. But it’s just proven to me how much I love you, and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Kate said, wiping at the moisture in the corner of her eye. “So, what I’m actually saying is, Colette Valois, will you marry me?”

As the words reached her ears, Colette clenched her eyes shut and inclined her head briefly, drawing a ragged breath.

“ _Oui_ ,” she said, starting to nod her head so fast the room started spinning. Kate let out a teary laugh and hid her face in her hands. “ _Je t’aime,_ ” Colette laughed, sniffling as she wiped at the tears running down her cheeks, reaching out and touching the monitor. She couldn’t believe it, she was sitting in a hotel room in Paris at two am on Christmas morning, her girlfriend was half a world away, and they had just gotten engaged. She felt like she was floating, her chest filling up with warmth.

Kate smiled at her, blowing her a kiss. “I love you, too.”

Part of Colette wished that Kate had waited with the proposal until she was back home, because she wanted nothing more than to kiss her now, but most of her was still in a state of shock.

Kate’s cell phone chirped again and the redhead glanced at the screen before rolling her eyes.

“Sorry,” she apologized, her brows furrowing when Colette heard Kate’s Skype message notification play.

“Jesus Christ, Laura,” the redhead mumbled, causing Colette to let out a laugh.

“Did you tell her what you needed the picture for?” she asked her, making Kate nod.

“Yeah. Hey, would you mind if I add her in for a minute? Else she’ll probably start pestering you in a second when she realizes you are still up.”

“No, go ahead,” Colette agreed, wiping the tears from her cheeks and checking her picture. Kate waited until she nodded before she added Laura to the video call. It only took the younger Cameron sister a second to accept, her grainy image showing up next to her sister.

“Have you ask- Oh,” she quickly cut herself off when she realized that Colette was also in the call. “Hi Colette. Merry Christmas!” the blonde American smiled as she started to type.

“ _Joyeux Noel,_ Laura,” Colette replied. Laura made a sympathetic face.

“Jet-lagged brain?” she asked. She stopped typing the second Kate’s Skype chimed again, causing the redhead to laugh.

“Subtle, Laura,” she shook her head at her younger sister.

“I guess I have to thank you partly for this, too,” Colette said, holding the wedding invitation into the camera. Laura let out a soft squeal before quickly covering her mouth with her hand.

“Did you say yes?” she asked, practically bouncing in her chair.

“Yes,” the French woman nodded, covering her ears barely in time for the next squeal, one that made Kate flinch at the volume.

“Jesus, Laura,” the redhead shook her head but was unable to keep the grin off her face.

“I’m so happy for you two!” Laura laughed, her grin almost splitting her face in half. “Oh God, I can’t believe it, you’re engaged!” she exclaimed.

“Keep it down!” Kate hissed, frowning at her sister.

“Ah, let her be happy. I feel like squealing, too,” Colette smiled at her girlfriend.

“You’re not in the same house as my parents,” Kate reminded her, watching as her sister blushed. “Please, I know you’re excited and want to tell everyone, but… you know how they are. Those are the kind of news I want to tell them myself. Possible at another time, because the combination of you being pregnant and me getting engaged might help our mother into an early grave.”

Laura nodded, making a zipping motion at her lips.

“I’m really happy for you two, though. Congratulations,” she smiled.

“Thank you, Laura,” Colette grinned at her fiancée’s sister. “Tell Joe I love the Santa hat, Kate showed me earlier.”

“Sure. Okay, I will leave you two alone now, merry Christmas!” Laura waved before her end went black. Kate quickly removed her from the conversation altogether, making sure that Laura wouldn’t be able to join in at a bad moment or read the chat between Colette and her sister.

“Hey,” Colette muttered, catching Kate’s attention. “They will come around.”

The redhead sighed and then shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t want to think about my parents right now.”

Colette gave a curt nod, opening her mouth to say something, but a yawn cut her off.

“Sorry,” she apologized quickly before yawning again.

“Aw, it’s okay, you should go to bed.”

“But I don’t want to,” the French stewardess pouted. Denying that she was dead tired would be useless. She’d been on a long flight and it was the middle of the night in France. Still, she felt like she was much too excited to just fall asleep and absolutely didn’t want to stop talking to Kate. To her fiancée, the woman she had just gotten engaged to.

Kate shook her head in amusement, checking her watch.

“Why don’t you go get ready for bed and then I will regale you with the events of the Cameron Christmas Feast of 2014, how does that sound?”

“I love you,” Colette smiled at her, putting the laptop aside as she stood to grab her PJs. When she returned from the bathroom, Kate had gotten comfortable on the couch.

“Comfy?” the redhead asked once Colette had snuggled between the covers and the French woman let out a happy sigh.

“Very,” she muttered, opening her eyes again to watch Kate’s picture. She tried to stay awake through the whole recounting, but Kate’s voice was low and soft and Colette’s eyes fell shut quickly as she let Kate’s voice lull her to sleep.


End file.
